Plating Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic
Also called: Anodizer, Chrome Plater, Electro Plater, PlaterSet up, operate, or tend plating machines to coat metal or plastic products with chromium, zinc, copper, cadmium, nickel, or other metal to protect or decorate surfaces. Typically, the product being coated is immersed in molten metal or an electrolytic solution.
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What the data says: AI could halve the time on 3 of its 33 tasks, and jobs are projected to shrink 9.7% by 2035. How to think about this →
About this projection
BLS builds AI into its projections where the research supports it: “BLS generally applies adjustments based on this research conservatively, where there is convincing evidence for a change.”
It also notes a limit: “BLS projection methods are not designed to capture extremely rapid technological change.”
On its AI exposure groups, BLS says exposure “does not imply job loss.”
Recent conditions
- In 2024, 3.5% of people in this work were unemployed, against 3.8% across all occupations Census ACS 2024, all workers in the Census group “Other metal workers and plastic workers”
- From Sep 2025 to Aug 2026, 5.4 hires for every 10 job openings in durable goods manufacturing, which employs about 94% of people in this work, against 7.3 across all industries BLS JOLTS
One box per opening, filled for each hire; hires beyond the openings are added in a lighter shade. Higher can mean openings get filled, or that people leave often; lower, that jobs go unfilled, or hiring is slow.5.4 this industry7.3 all industries
Median pay by state BLS OEWS May 2025, state estimates
Tap a state for its figures.
Median pay in every state
| State | Median | Middle half earn | Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | $33,730 | $29,500 to $38,890 | 400 |
| Arizona | $47,110 | $38,230 to $49,140 | 640 |
| Arkansas | $51,140 | $39,420 to $65,060 | 230 |
| California | $46,760 | $39,390 to $51,180 | 5,600 |
| Colorado | $47,930 | $45,490 to $57,630 | 190 |
| Connecticut | $37,220 | $35,400 to $49,590 | 620 |
| Florida | $46,460 | $36,820 to $57,110 | 530 |
| Georgia | $39,160 | $35,000 to $46,950 | 660 |
| Idaho | $44,470 | $38,200 to $48,580 | 60 |
| Illinois | $38,620 | $36,830 to $47,990 | 2,380 |
| Indiana | $38,680 | $38,150 to $48,850 | 1,250 |
| Iowa | $70,910 | $45,930 to $70,910 | 440 |
| Kansas | $38,770 | $36,500 to $47,510 | 360 |
| Kentucky | $34,680 | $27,520 to $43,680 | 630 |
| Louisiana | $34,040 | $30,960 to $38,080 | 100 |
| Maine | $45,720 | $40,140 to $48,280 | 170 |
| Maryland | $42,030 | $39,520 to $59,440 | 60 |
| Massachusetts | $46,150 | $37,820 to $50,130 | 860 |
| Michigan | $37,600 | $35,100 to $44,990 | 3,330 |
| Minnesota | $46,730 | $40,590 to $59,120 | 560 |
| Mississippi | $52,090 | $48,610 to $52,090 | 60 |
| Missouri | $44,080 | $35,970 to $48,780 | 150 |
| Nebraska | $48,010 | $38,520 to $61,880 | 400 |
| Nevada | $37,460 | $37,100 to $42,070 | 60 |
| New Hampshire | $46,300 | $45,100 to $48,380 | 60 |
| New Jersey | $40,800 | $32,220 to $46,970 | 380 |
| New York | $45,510 | $38,160 to $56,360 | 830 |
| North Carolina | $43,540 | $36,750 to $47,920 | 710 |
| Ohio | $46,790 | $41,050 to $51,860 | 1,810 |
| Oklahoma | $49,330 | $38,830 to $65,640 | 180 |
| Oregon | $48,050 | $45,790 to $50,810 | 310 |
| Pennsylvania | $45,590 | $37,600 to $55,890 | 1,740 |
| Rhode Island | $38,580 | $38,390 to $46,780 | 450 |
| South Carolina | $44,560 | $39,300 to $48,840 | 470 |
| Tennessee | $39,510 | $36,410 to $47,630 | 1,660 |
| Texas | $39,060 | $32,420 to $47,150 | 2,090 |
| Utah | $46,940 | $41,870 to $63,200 | 180 |
| Virginia | $43,380 | $37,090 to $47,720 | 270 |
| Washington | $58,000 | $49,360 to $64,410 | 410 |
| Wisconsin | $44,350 | $37,220 to $57,790 | 940 |
Nationally: $43,960. Shades run from the lowest state median to the highest; a territory below that range takes the lightest. How to read this
How AI touches the work
What AI could speed up, task by task, and where people already use it.
AI could halve the time on 3 of its 33 tasks
| AI rating | Its main tasks | Share of Claude conversations May 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Not much | Set up, operate, or tend plating or coating machines to coat metal or plastic products with chromium, zinc, copper, cadmium, nickel, or other metal to protect or decorate surfaces. | Not published |
| Not much | Observe gauges to ensure that machines are operating properly, making adjustments or stopping machines when problems occur. | Not published |
| Not much | Inspect coated or plated areas for defects, such as air bubbles or uneven coverage. | Not published |
| AI + software | Maintain production records. | under 0.01% |
| Not much | Immerse workpieces in coating solutions or liquid metal or plastic for specified times. | Not published |
| Not much | Adjust dials to regulate flow of current and voltage supplied to terminals to control plating processes. | Not published |
See all 33 tasks
| Not much | Remove objects from solutions at periodic intervals and observe objects to verify conformance to specifications. | Not published |
| Not much | Remove excess materials or impurities from objects, using air hoses or grinding machines. | Not published |
| Not much | Examine completed objects to determine thicknesses of metal deposits, or measure thicknesses by using instruments such as micrometers. | Not published |
| Not much | Rinse coated objects in cleansing liquids and dry them with cloths, centrifugal driers, or by tumbling in sawdust-filled barrels. | Not published |
| Not much | Test machinery to ensure that it is operating properly. | Not published |
| Not much | Operate hoists to place workpieces onto machine feed carriages or spindles. | Not published |
| Not much | Suspend sticks or pieces of plating metal from anodes, or positive terminals, and immerse metal in plating solutions. | Not published |
| AI + software | Read production schedules to determine setups of equipment and machines. | Not published |
| Not much | Measure, mark, and mask areas to be excluded from plating. | Not published |
| Not much | Measure or weigh materials, using rulers, calculators, and scales. | Not published |
| Not much | Immerse objects to be coated or plated into cleaning solutions, or spray objects with conductive solutions to prepare them for plating. | Not published |
| Not much | Replace worn parts and adjust equipment components, using hand tools. | Not published |
| AI + software | Determine sizes and compositions of objects to be plated, and amounts of electrical current and time required. | Not published |
| Not much | Position objects to be plated in frames, or suspend them from positive or negative terminals of power supplies. | Not published |
| Not much | Adjust controls to set temperatures of coating substances and speeds of machines and equipment. | Not published |
| Not much | Suspend objects, such as parts or molds from cathode rods, or negative terminals, and immerse objects in plating solutions. | Not published |
| Not much | Monitor and measure thicknesses of electroplating on component parts to verify conformance to specifications, using micrometers. | Not published |
| Not much | Position containers to receive parts, and load or unload materials in containers, using dollies or handtrucks. | Not published |
| Not much | Clean workpieces, using wire brushes. | Not published |
| Not much | Clean and maintain equipment, using water hoses and scrapers. | Not published |
| Not much | Place plated or coated materials on racks and transfer them to ovens to dry for specified periods of time. | Not published |
| Not much | Perform equipment maintenance, such as cleaning tanks and lubricating moving parts of conveyors. | Not published |
| Not much | Operate sandblasting equipment to roughen and clean surfaces of workpieces. | Not published |
| Not much | Mix and test solutions, and turn valves to fill tanks with solutions. | Not published |
| Not much | Position and feed materials into processing machines, by hand or by using automated equipment. | Not published |
| Not much | Measure and set stops, rolls, brushes, and guides on automatic feeders and conveying equipment or coating machines, using micrometers, rules, and hand tools. | Not published |
| Not much | Preheat workpieces in ovens. | Not published |
Ordered by how important O*NET's respondents rate each task (1 to 5) times the share who say it is part of their job. The ordering is ours. 1 of the 33 have a published share of Claude conversations; “not published” means too few conversations for Anthropic to publish a figure.
Where people already use AI
The tasks above say what AI could speed up. This shows what people are using it for. Its 33 tasks fall under 24 work activities that many occupations share, and Microsoft counted how often each one came up in 200,000 conversations with its Copilot assistant in 2024.
- #8 Read documents or materials to inform work processes
- #37 Determine operational methods or procedures
| Work activity | This occupation's tasks under it | People asked AI for help in 10,000 conversations |
AI did it for them in 10,000 conversations |
|---|---|---|---|
| Prepare industrial materials for processing or use | |||
| Measure physical characteristics of materials, products, or equipment | |||
| Clean workpieces, finished products, or other objects | |||
| Operate industrial processing or production equipment | |||
| Adjust equipment to ensure adequate performance | |||
| Maintain tools or equipment | |||
| Clean tools, equipment, facilities, or work areas | |||
| Position workpieces or materials on equipment |
Show all 24 activities
| Load products, materials, or equipment for transportation or further processing | |||
| Read documents or materials to inform work processes | |||
| Determine operational methods or procedures | |||
| Set up equipment | |||
| Prepare mixtures or solutions | |||
| Test performance of equipment or systems | |||
| Inspect completed work or finished products | |||
| Position tools or equipment | |||
| Apply protective solutions or coatings | |||
| Maintain operational records | |||
| Cut materials | |||
| Repair tools or equipment | |||
| Monitor equipment operation | |||
| Operate cutting or grinding equipment | |||
| Operate lifting or moving equipment | |||
| Remove workpieces from production equipment |
How people in this work use Claude
What people in this work made with Claude % of conversations
- Data or a spreadsheet24%
- Math or a calculation18%
- A document or report15%
- An analysis or summary12%
- An app or website9%
How they worked with Claude
32% of these conversations were about work. Anthropic Economic Index, May 2026.
How to read this
Work activities come from O*NET, which links every task to the broader activities it involves. Microsoft's figures are for the activity across everyone who used Copilot, not for plating machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic specifically. Copilot is a general chat assistant; dedicated coding tools are not included, so programming help is under-counted here. Activities are listed by how many of this occupation's tasks fall under them.
The task ratings say whether AI could halve the time a task takes: on its own (“AI alone”), or with software built on it (“AI + software”). They were made by people in 2023 (Eloundou et al.). Claude's share is the task's share of all Claude.ai conversations in May 2026; Anthropic doesn't publish a task with too few conversations. None of these add up to the BLS exposure group, which combines five research measures.
More in the Guide: task ratings · task order · work activities · Copilot figures · Claude
High exposure doesn't mean fewer jobs
BLS projects most occupations in its two most exposed groups to grow: 141 of 206 rated Very high and 165 of 206 rated High. Each dot is one of the 831 occupations BLS rates.
Career moves into and out of this occupation
From moves between occupations found in online resumes, 2002–2016. Career changes only: a first job after school isn't a move.
Where people moved in from
of 436 moves in
- 1 Computer Systems Analysts Very high +7.9% 16%
- 2 First-Line Supervisors of Food Preparation and Serving Workers High +5.4% 10%
- 3 Production Workers, All Other (2010 group) an older group BLS has since split; no exposure group today 5%
- 4 Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand Low +1.8% 5%
- 5 Water and Wastewater Treatment Plant and System Operators Low -5.7% 4%
Resumes over-represent younger, white-collar job-seekers and moves into management. Schubert, Stansbury and Taska (resume data).
Education and training for the occupation
O*NET survey of workers in this occupation
- 49% less than high school
- 47% high school
- 1% some college
- 3% bachelor's
O*NET 31.0 survey of workers in this occupation · 23 people answered.
Census survey (American Community Survey)
- 14% less than high school
- 52% high school
- 21% some college
- 8% associate's
- 4% bachelor's
- 1% master's
Census ACS 2024, all workers in the Census group “Other metal workers and plastic workers” · 3,391 people surveyed.
Why the two can differ
O*NET asks about 20 people in each occupation, which makes its shares uncertain, but it reports the exact occupation and counts certificates. The Census survey reaches thousands, but it groups some occupations together and counts degrees only. More in the Guide
Median pay by highest degree full-time, year-round · Census ACS 2024, all workers in the Census group “Other metal workers and plastic workers”
Jobs that require a credential BLS Occupational Requirements Survey 2023
BLS publishes no credential figures for this occupation.
Look up certifications, training and licenses U.S. Department of Labor
- Certification Finder ↗ certifications CareerOneStop lists for this occupation
- Training Finder ↗ schools and programs, nationwide; narrow the place there
- License Finder ↗ licenses by state
- Apprenticeship Finder ↗ DOL lists 1 registered apprenticeship in this occupation (PLATER). Apprenticeship.gov can't be linked to one occupation, so search for “Plating Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic” there.
These open in a new tab and send only the occupation's public code. More in the Guide
BLS AI exposure categories (Aug 2026) · BLS Employment Projections 2025–35 · O*NET 31.0 · Task ratings: Eloundou et al., Science (2024) · Microsoft "Working with AI" v1.1 · Anthropic Economic Index (2026-06-26) · Schubert, Stansbury and Taska · NCES CIP–SOC · Census ACS 2024 · BLS JOLTS
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